air cargo outlook

Air cargo market may not improve even if economy does

The only way to characterize the air cargo market in March is it’s a little less worse than the past few months.

Slight recovery of factory output in China after the Lunar New Year holiday, a rise in manufacturing exports elsewhere and incremental improvement in inflation are helping global demand and rates achieve some sense of seasonal stability after a yearlong slump.

But the outlook remains murky, with green shoots pointing to a second-half recovery against a backdrop of difficult economic...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/air-cargo-market-may-not-improve-even-if-economy-does

Air cargo’s Lunar New Year blues

Global airfreight weakness has worsened to start 2023 in the face of a global economic slowdown and the lack of a typical bounce around the Chinese New Year holiday. But there is cautious optimism that cross-border trade and demand for freight transportation could pick up in the second half of the year.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said last week that air shipment traffic slid 8% last year from record highs in 2021 and was 1.6% less than in 2019, a relatively weak year for...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/air-cargos-lunar-new-year-blues

Air cargo execs more nervous over consumer pullback

MIAMI — Air cargo airline and logistics executives have written off the traditional peak season bump in shipping business as the global economy decelerates, leaving them to speculate whether prospects will improve sometime in 2023.

The growing pessimism, following 18 months of record-setting volumes and revenues, was underscored by International Air Transport Association data last week showing a 10.7% decrease in cargo demand in September compared to the prior year. Continued contraction in...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/air-cargo-execs-more-nervous-over-consumer-pullback

Boeing, Airbus raise 20-year outlook for air cargo on express growth

Cargo pallets on dollies behind the tail of a large jet parked at an airport.

Continued growth in demand for shipping goods by air will translate into a global freighter fleet in 2041 that is 80% larger than today, Boeing said over the weekend in a market outlook slightly more bullish on air cargo than a year ago and compared to rival Airbus’ new forecast. 

The rosier analysis explains why Boeing projects a need for 540 more dedicated cargo jets than Airbus over the next 20 years.

The world’s dominant jet manufacturers issued their visions of how the passenger and air...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/boeing-airbus-raise-20-year-outlook-for-air-cargo-on-express-growth

Air cargo market heads toward 2nd best year despite softening

An airport tug pulls a large cargo pallet in front of an American Airlines jet.

Air cargo business is slowing amid global macroeconomic pressures but 2022 is still shaping up as one of the industry’s strongest years ever with cargo revenues nearly double those before the pandemic, the International Air Transport Association said Monday. The cargo forecast was part of an upgraded outlook showing that the industry is inching closer to profitability in 2023 as passenger demand finally kicks into full gear.

The largest airline trade association said it expects cargo to continue...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/air-cargo-market-heads-toward-2nd-best-year-despite-softening

Geopolitics contribute to 11% decline in air cargo demand

Workers wearing yellow vests maneuver a large freight pallet under the wing of a jetliner.

The downturn in global air cargo demand intensified during April and is outpacing the slowdown in overall international trade in goods, as the Ukraine war, strict lockdown measures in China and inflation dragged down economic activity, an aviation industry group representing most major airlines reported this week.

Meanwhile, international travel demand in the passenger segment shot up in April, especially in the trans-Atlantic market, in response to reductions in COVID border restrictions ahead...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/geopolitics-contribute-to-11-decline-in-air-cargo-demand

Air cargo market fades 8% in May, faces summer of uncertainty

Man in yellow vest monitors loading of pallets on roller system inside body of aircraft.

The air cargo market continues to lose altitude in the face of an overall economic slowdown and supply chain dislocations. Whether swiftly changing conditions enable airlines’ cargo business to swing it back to positive territory this summer is an open question.

Air freight volumes tumbled 8% in May versus 2021, replicating April’s slide, as the Ukraine war, large-scale COVID lockdowns in China, soaring inflation and high interest rates slowed global output and consumption, according to figures...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/air-cargo-market-fades-8-in-may-faces-summer-of-uncertainty

Air cargo market risks downturn as export orders contract

A pallet of cargo being loaded from a hoist into the upper deck of a plane as viewed from the side of plane over the wing.

The two-year bull market for air cargo could be headed for a downturn. Freight volumes moved by passenger and cargo airlines contracted in March and April as manufacturing and supply chains faltered in the face of war and COVID headwinds, according to figures from a major airline trade group and independent analysts.

The International Air Transport Association said Tuesday air freight demand in March fell 5.2% year-over-year and that seasonally adjusted volumes reached a 16-month low. On...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/air-cargo-market-risks-downturn-as-export-orders-contract

China Airlines orders 4 Boeing 777 freighters after 2021 cargo record

Underneath view of a China Airlines cargo jet flying overhead.

China Airlines said Thursday it has ordered four 777 freighters from Boeing as it seeks to capitalize on a booming air cargo market that helped propel the Taiwan flag carrier’s revenues last year. Deliveries are slated to commence in 2023 and be completed the following year. 

The 10th-largest cargo hauler by volume, China Air already operates three 777 all-cargo jets and has three more on order — two of which are scheduled for delivery. The bulk of the fleet consists of 18 B747-400 freighters....

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/china-airlines-orders-4-boeing-777-freighters-after-2021-cargo-record

Air cargo growth hits supply chain turbulence

A large pallet with a tarp sits on a cart next to an airplane wing and engine.

The seasonal rush to ship goods in time for year-end holidays failed to translate into more consignments carried by airlines because of COVID-related labor shortages and airport congestion, dampening industry momentum after a year of robust growth.

The latest data from two organizations that survey the airfreight market shows that volumes weakened as the fourth quarter progressed, a deviation from the normal pattern during the busiest period for cross-border freight transportation and the first...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/air-cargo-growth-hits-supply-chain-turbulence

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